Bearing



March l0, 1942.

- BEARING Filed Jul-y 17, 1937 ,a zu@ .V17 12% ZZ 19- 16% 41 /V la, Ji lo G. lBELL n 2,276,143y l Patented Mar. 10 1942 f UNITED." l S11-M 'BEARING 'George Bell, AWallner,` England, lasslg'liorfby,

' mesne assignments, to The Ironside:

Company,` i f Columbus, Ohio, acorporatlon of'Olliov Application July .11, 1937, 'serial No. 154,286 Vin croat Britain Donemus; s1, 1935 1 reclaim. (ci. is-sm f This invention isv for improvements infor relating to bearings, andis particularly, concerned v with bearing blocks and the manufacture of such Y bearing blocks. The bearing blocksaccordingto the invention are advantageously used in bearings for heavy Vrriachinerysuch as rolling mills and thelike. f

In rolling mill and like bearings busheshave beenemployed composed of asynthetic resin material, now manufactured undervarious trade names and use d in the plastic moulding art, and these bushes have been shaped to fit. the bearing blocks, the moulded bush in its hard finished form Vbeing securedin the bearing block by clamping means. Ithas been found. that such bushes are not satisfactory in use owing to the tendency for relative movement between the-bush and the block to'develop', and furthermore thelubrication and cooling o f the `bearing surface of the bush presented dimculties.

' I have found, however, that to obtain the best results the substance should be usedas a lining around the saiclrecessesor projections so that when the is hard itis keyed to the block.

Incarryingl out the invention the upper and lowerbearing' blocks, when tted with ya lining tlvely-subtend an venient, so that there is side of the shaft.

I'Ihe bearing' blocks, the ,external configurai ation'r of which would be varied incaccordance with the design of the machine frame andthe fbearing caps, have bores,;the surfacesof which are oi? cylindrical coniiguration with the usual curvilinear fillets, and ythereV are uniformly dis?A tributed over the cylindricalsurface andthe curvilinear surface a series' of` vdovetail projections or .recesses adapted to engage and retain -in position the connected to the bearing blocks' after the manner i employed in connection with white metal bearings; it is not possible, however, to apply the" synthetic resin to the bearing vin the manner in which vwhitemetal is applied, that is by running linings v of synthetic resinous substances.

According torvone modication vis .formed as follows: 'A syntheticresin in .sheet formhaving an openly' woven linen ori the like` fabric foundation is broken upinto small pieces which `areintroduced into a 'steamf-heated mould andthe bearing blockl (withits dovetailed-re.-

jcesses) forms :one wall of themould; Asuitable the metal into the bearings ln the mouldable state Y whilst the shaft is in position therein, and the- Y present invention has for its object the provision 7. of a bearing in which the synthetic resinous sub,`

stance forms alining as distinguished yfrm a bush, andin which the inode of lubrication f and/or cooling ismodied to suit theibearing construction and the 'material employedjfor lining, and whereby. in" particular.' bearings of this type forshaftsl ofgla'rge diameter and conv siderable bearing pressure may be employed with satisfactory results at comparatively low speeds.` According to the present invention thereis pro-p vided in or for u'se in a bearing, av bearing blockv synthetic resin material used in carrying'out this having a synthetic resin lining forming the bear 'temperatureforthe'steam is' about 200 degrees I' Fahrenheit, and the resinousmaterial is sub,.-I

jected to the moulding pressure of a hydraulic-7 j ram, the vsurface ofthe mould andgr'am-end be.-

ing suchv that the saidpieces, promiscuou'sly mixed together are, when softened by the Elieat, pressed to vshape so as to provide a segment of cylindrical coniiguration in engagement with the b1ock,.t he length `in an axial. direction" and the Aexterior radiusl of curvatureoi which correspond withthe length'andinterir radius of curvature 'of the cylindrical portion of the bearing. block,

ing surface and mouldedin position on the block,

' and engaging keying means on the block to prelvent-longitudinal. and transverse movement of."K Athe lining with respect to the block, The'synthetic resin material whenplastic is caused to:-

ilow into engagementfwithkeying means` prof.

Vvided on the block so that the lining when hard 1 is keyed against movement'in a longitudinal an'd transverse direction relatively to thel block. Prefthe plastic resinous material is -pressed into 'and such as hardness and knownto those skilledin the-art of 1 may bepossible under erably the keying means consists of Adove-tailed recesses orpl'ojectio'ns formed in the blockand the thickness being approximately equal to: the

radius dimension -of`the proposed The available undenvari'- tensile'strength, are well mouldlngs. The resinousmaterial 'per se thetic" resin having. a

proximating to that vof the variousformsrand the.: various synthetic#resins,

plastic foins-71" no part of this invention, and maybe used in j powder form or vby breaking'up a isheetofisynfv fabric foundation, ori'V fit1' certainv conditions to plie- `form a slab oi'. resinous material to a" shape ape i" 1 lining. and mensen 1 1. der that'slab plastic in' contactwlth thebearing l block, and press the plastic slab into engagement with the keying means on the bearing block.

The bearing block to which the lining has to be fitted is introduced into the press employedv to carry out the operation described, or into a press designed for the purpose; the press, in either case,v being so shaped that ,the bearing block is rigidLv supported in the press with its medial radial centre line coinciding with that -of the ram of the press; and the ram is fitted with a semi-cylindrical head or end piece, the l vangle of 120 to 130 degrees whilst suitable for a shaft having normal bearing speeds does not give satisfactory results with shafts of large diameter running at comparatively lowspeeds; the reason being that the lubricant, usually water or an emulsion introduced at the free espaces at the sides of the shaft is not carried, by the slowly rotating shaft, over the wholesurface of the bearing lining or at least over the' main axis of pressure on the lining; Il therefore provide the said `lining with two laterally located axially disposed ports preferably ofrectangular configuration, the axial lengths of which are somewhat less than the axial length of the cylindrical part of the lining; and I provide in the bearing blocks passage-ways which align with the said ports, and I lead the lubricant to the said passage-ways. The angle subtended by the inner edges of the ports is substantially less than the angle subtended by the lining. This angle is predetermined'in accordance with the normal speed of the shaft which the block is adapted to support', and is increased or decreased directly in accordance with the said shaft speed; the reason for the adjustment of the angle as aforesaid is that with lshafts'which rotate atslow speed the -port directing the lubricant between the shaft and the lining is `close to the main axis of bearing-pressure on the lining, and

' therefore this slowly rotating shaft is enabled to carry a illm of lubricant over such axis, and

. thereby give efficient lubrication. With certain classesof lining it may be more important'to maintain a cooling medium between the shaft and the lining, and therefore similar considerations to those set out above with regard to lubricants apply to the feeding of cooling medium to the bearing. In some cases the lubricant employed is also a cooling medium. Similarlyjwith the object of maintaining a iilm of lubricating and/or cooling medium over the main axis of pressure on the lining I connect a source of lubricant or cooling medium to the ports described; and vary the pressure at which the said medium is supplied in accordance with the speed of the shaft supported in the bearing. Where I provide two ports for lubricating and/or` cooling medium I locate these on each side of the longitudinal axis of the bearing block and parallel to the said axis, and I cause lubrication orcooling to be effected through one or other of these ports depending on v the direction of rotation of the shaft.

The ports may be out in 'the 1min; oder 1t has l been fixed in positionl or the semi-cylindrical die or head of the ram may be shaped so as to mould the said ports whilst the lining is being pressed into position in the .bearing block, or removable inserts may be locatedin the space in which the lining is moulded opposite the inlet and'foutlet f passage-ways or ducts in the bearing block, so that the ports are formed when the removable inserts are eliminated after the lining is moulded.

One example of -a bearing block-and its manufacture in accord-ance with the present invention will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawing, whereon- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation through the bearing block with thelining moulded thereon,

Figure 2 is a plan viewA of the blockshown on Figure 1, l l

Figure 3 is anjend` elevation of the bearing block,

Figure 4 is a section on thevline III-Iv of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrow,

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing one method of moulding the lining on to they bearing block, and

Figure' is a diagrammatic view of an alterna;- V I tive method of ymoulding the lining on totle bearing block. l l

With reference to'Figures 1 to 4 inclusive,v the bearing block I Il which maybe of any'metal suitable for-,the `load which the bearing has to stand is formed with a cylindrical ,b'o're II, and the n ang1e sdbtended at the axis or the bore'` is of the order of rk degrees Vso that'when upperand lower bearing blocks are mounted to form a bearing there is a free space on each side of the shaft supported in the blocks. "rho borefof the block has the usual curvilinear illlet I2 and distributed over thecylindricalsurface is a series kof dovetailed recesses I3 adapted to be engaged by the synthetic resin lining I It when the latter is pressed, in a plastic condition, into the cylindrical surface of the block. Further dove-tailed recesses I3 hold the lining Iton the fillet I 2. A continuous lining subtending an angle of130 degrees as hereinbefore described while suitable for a shaft having normal bearing speeds does give satisfactory results. at low speeds. The lining I4 is therefore provided withy twolaterally located ports I8 located symmetrically on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the lining and extending parallel therewith. These ports communicate with channels I1 formed in the bearing block and havingkstrengthening bridge-pieces I8. Inlet and outlet ducts I0, 20, communicate with the channels Il, and these ports are so disposed, for a lower bearing'block, that the lowest .point 2i of the end of the duct remote from the channel Il is above the highest point 22 of the port I6. The circulation of lubricating and/or cooling medium is effected through? the left hand port in Figure 1 when the rotation of the shaft is coun terclockwise, and through the right hand port when the rotation of the shaft is clock-Wise. The axis of bearing pressure is generally at the lowest point of the bore designated by the letter, B on Figure 1, Ibut depending on thel nature of the work for which the shaft is used this. main axis of pressure mayk be angularly spaced from the point B by a small amount, but in any case for effective lubrication and cooling the appropriate medium must be carried round the lining from whichever port Il is functioning past the point B, and therefore the angle which the ducts I6 subtend at the axis of the bore f the liningis predetermined according to the normal speed of the shaft and for low speeds the aforesaid angle will be relatively small to ensure that the medium is carried past the point B, but for higher speeds the angle can be larger. Similarly for the purpose of maintaining a film o f the appropriate medium between the shaft and the lining the ducts I8 may be connected to a source of l'ubricant and/or cooling medium, the delivery pressure of which is adjusted accordingV to the shaft speed. This may be performed` by maintaining a storage tank of the appropriate medium in communication with the appropriate port and .varying the height of the said storage tank with respect to the bearing so that the head is greater or lesser for greater or lesser shaft speeds.

In Figure is diagramm-atically illustrated one method of forming the lining. A synthetic resin in sheet form having an openly woven fabric foundation is broken up into small piecesY C, and these are iilled through a lling aperture 23 formed in the block I0 into a space 24, the radial depth of which corresponds with the thiol-:nessv of lining desired. The space 24 is obtained by clamping the bearing block I0 base-upwards in a press, the bearing block being rigidly supported with its medial radial centre line coinciding-with that of the ram 25 of the press; the block thus forms -one wall of the mould for the lining and the other walls are formed by a die 26 having a curved arch. 2l supported by -a bridge 28, the curvature of the arch corresponding with the diameter of the shaft which the bearing is adapted to support. The die 26 may be hollow and steamheated (by steam at a temperature of about 200 F.) introduced through the inlet 29 and carried away by the outlet 30. Wooden inserts 3| are located in the space 24 corresponding to the ports which have to be formed in the lining, and the heat transmitted through the walls of the die renders the resinous material C plastic so that by exerting .pressure on the ram 25 the plastic material is forced into the space 24y and ows into and surrounds the dove-tailed recesses I3 on the bearing block. To ensure a dense compact lining an excess of sub-divided resinous material C is provided at the lling-aperture 23 and as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing this excess material is generally sufiicient entirely to ll the aperture 23. To ensure such filling an additional chambei' 32 may be associated with the press.

In Figure 6 is shown ay modification in which the ram 25 projects through a lling aperture 33 provided in the die 26, and if desired the ram may have a semi-cylindrical head, the configuration of which corresponds with that of the internal bore of the lining. In this modification the block is held in the press base-downwards.

petails of construction and the mode of moulding` the lining given by way of example in the foregoing description may be modified according to the type and size of bearing to which the-invention is applied. For example, while the lining has been described as moulded to a segmental shape it will be appreciated that a block of resinous material may be moulded in yposition on a bearing block and cored out to form the cylindri- What is clairnedis:

l. The method of forming bearings which comprises utilizing a bearing block having a liningreceiving surface and an opening surrounding the medial radial center line of the block and extending therefrom to the rear of said block, positioning a hollow die in engagement with said block, said die being provided with an arcuate face disposed in spaced relation from said liningreceiving surface, providing a ram in said block opening to coincide with the medial radial center line of the block, lling the space between the ram and die with an excess of a nely divided dry synthetic resin, introducing steam into said die to soften the resin, and forcingsaid ram into the opening in said block to exert pressure on said softened resin to cause it to closely engage the surfaces of said block and die.

2. The method of forming bearings which comprises utilizing a bearing block having an irregular lining-receiving surface and an opening surrounding the medial radial center line of the block and extending therefrom to the opposite side of said block, positioning said block with the lining-receiving surface in close proximity to av die having a convex surface, providing a ram movable in said block opening to coincide with the medial radial center line of the block, lling the space between the surface of the ram and the convex surface of said die with an excess of dry synthetic resin particles, heating said die to soften the particles, and moving said ram into the opening in said block to force the softened resin into intimate 'engagement with the surfaces of said -block and die. 1

` GEORGE BELL. 

